


Foundling

by Mistflyer1102



Series: Star Light, Star Bright [1]
Category: Star Wars Legends - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet Ending, Explosions, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Original Character Death(s), Parent-Child Relationship, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Warzone
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:09:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29948409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mistflyer1102/pseuds/Mistflyer1102
Summary: A routine supply stop goes horribly wrong, irrevocably changing little Shmi Skywalker's life forever.*Can be read as a standalone*
Relationships: Shmi Skywalker & Original Character(s)
Series: Star Light, Star Bright [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2016113





	Foundling

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, and welcome to _Foundling_! Please heed the tags, and while not all will apply to each chapter, I will give you a heads-up at the start of each chapter as to which some of the tags apply.
> 
> In this one, it is the explosions.

“But I wanna go too!”

“I know, Shmi, but it’s just a supply stop. I’m just going to go shopping while your dad looks at the ship’s engines, he thinks they were rattling again,” Shmi’s mom said as she tried to free her coat from Shmi’s grip. Shmi gritted her teeth in determination, little fingers curling around the familiar wool fabric as she planted herself in her mom’s usual seat in the cockpit. At six years old, Shmi didn’t quite fit the copilot’s chair, but she was, as her mom once said, stubborn, so she let herself be dragged across the seat as her mom tried to free the coat from her grasp. “Shmi, please don’t pull on it like that--” her mom began, but sighed as Shmi abruptly let go of the coat when they both heard the faint _rrrrip._ “Well, never mind then, dear,” she said, smiling at Shmi, as she untangled some loose dark hair that had gotten caught in the coat’s collar. “I’ll just go, I don’t think I’ll need the coat after all.”

Shmi perked up. “So I can come too?”

“No.”

“But Mo-om! I don’t wanna stay on the ship, it’s boring!” Shmi slid off the seat, following her mom. “Please Mom? I want to come too, it’s more exciting out there than in here and I wanna see the planet! I’ve never been out here before and it’s gonna be another million hours before we get to our next stop,” she said, following her mom out of the cockpit and towards the back of the ship. 

Her mom stifled a sigh as she tucked her firestone pendant, an anniversary gift from Shmi’s dad last year, underneath her loose shirt. Shmi still remembered the day her dad had presented the little box to her mom mostly because Shmi banged her knee against a chair in an effort to get away from her parents before they started kissing. They _always_ kissed after little events like that. Shmi continued to trail in her mom’s footsteps as her mom continued to walk down the length of the ship. “Mom, I promise not to ask for anything!” Shmi said, desperately trying to think of a sufficient bribe that would sway her mom.

“Shmi, we’re just at a tiny spaceport, the town that it’s a part of isn’t going to be that much bigger or exciting,” her mom replied patiently as she reached for a blue cloak that had orange and silver swirls wove into it. It was one of Shmi’s favorites, even if she couldn’t remember where her mom had gotten it. Shmi had one that matched. Her mom paused in her steps, nearly causing Shmi to collide into her. Shmi watched as her mom sighed, and then her shoulders sagged. “Shmi, we’re on the planet of Cheravh. Do you remember the name of the sector?” she asked, turning around and kneeling down in front of Shmi.

Shmi nodded eagerly. Her dad had told her the answer right before they had landed. “Mandalore. Can I come now?”

Her mom said, “Yes, you may come with me. “But do not ask for anything, and you _must_ be on your best behavior,” she said, looking directly at Shmi.

Shmi squealed with delight and clapped her hands. “Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she said, darting forward and hugging her mom around her mom’s knees.

Her mom still laughed despite wobbling a bit, and rested a hand on Shmi’s back. “Okay, okay, go get your cloak. it’s a little chilly out there. I’ll meet you outside, I have to go tell your dad that you are coming with me,” she said as Shmi pulled away from her. “And remember, _don’t run_ in the ship!” she called as Shmi turned around and began to run towards their living quarters.

“Yes, Mom!” Shmi yelled as she slowed down to a fast walk.

Shmi tapped the key code for the door, and walked into where she and her parents slept, more often separately than together. Her parents switched off piloting duties, and whomever piloted often slept while they were in hyperspace, when the other parent was watching Shmi. They still made an effort though, to have meals with all three of them together. Shmi didn’t mind traveling from place to place, everything was good with her parents there.

Shmi pulled herself onto her parents’ bed, clambered over to the other side, slid off, and then climbed onto her bed. She clambered over messy blankets to the foot of the bed where her trunk was, and then climbed onto the trunk before jumping to the floor. She gritted her teeth as she pushed the trunk lid open. She couldn’t remember where she had gotten her favorite cloak, but unlike her mom’s, it was green with silver colors. Shmi thought the color combination was pretty. She grabbed the cloak off a pile of clothes—she couldn’t remember if they were clean or dirty—then nearly ran around the two beds, barely remembering to fast-walk at the last minute. She didn’t want to risk her mom finding out that she ran inside the ship after all and take back Shmi’s one chance to get off the dumb ship.

“Bye Dad!” she shouted as she fast-walked down the ramp and into a rather noisy spaceport despite the place being supposedly small. She slowed down long enough to grab her mom’s hand at the bottom of the ramp, but stopped when she didn’t get a response. She turned, and then blinked when she didn’t see her dad. “Dad! I’m going with Mom!” she shouted, keeping her arm stiff when her mom tugged on her hand gently with a soft _‘hush’_.

A rustling noise caught her attention, and she grinned when her dad’s head appeared upside-down from an open panel near the ground. His dark hair, starting to gray slightly, was sticking out in various directions, and his face was as red, from exertion, as the red painted swirls Shmi had once dabbed on the side of the ship near the panel from which he appeared. “Okay Shmi. Behave for your mom,” he said, grinning back despite his stern tone. He waved at her.

Shmi grinned, and waved back, her mom’s soft laughter echoing in her ears. Then she turned to follow her mom, still clutching her mom’s hand.

Even in the spaceport, as small as it was, there were so many things to see. She held her mom’s hand tightly, trying not to shiver in the cold breeze as weak sunlight filtered down through the clouds. Shmi recognized only a handful of numerous beings in the hangars that were either fixing ships, carrying tools, or otherwise talking amongst each other, including Twi-leks, Rodians, Grans, and what she thought might be a Wookiee in addition to humans. Buildings rose beyond the low roofs of the spaceport, and she could see that the windows and facades were in various states of disrepair. Her mom kept a brisk pace as they walked to the main entrance of the hangars. Shmi suspected that her mom did not want to, as her mom would say, ‘dawdle’.

To her slight disappointment, the town…was less exciting.

A single, duracrete road, already cracked and pockmarked, ran down the middle of what looked like the center of the town itself, disappearing into the fields, and eventually the horizon. Shops lined both sides of the road, and she could see the rooftops of more buildings behind the shops on either side of the road. She paused in her tracks, trying to sneak a peek down what looked like either a small side road or a large alleyway, curious to see how far away those other buildings were from where she stood.

A sharp jerk brought her back to reality as her hand slipped out of her mom’s: she hadn’t realized her mom kept walking forward. “Shmi, I will not say this again. Stay close to my side, and do not let my hand go,” her mom said, frowning as Shmi looked back up at her.

“Yes, Mom, sorry.” Shmi reached for her mom’s hand again.

Her mom didn’t move until Shmi’s hand was securely in hers again, and they began to walk again, this time angling for one of the roadside stalls selling what looked like fruits. As they walked, Shmi didn’t miss the way that some of the shopkeepers stared at them, a sense of trepidation settling in her gut. Her mom seemed to notice it also: Shmi heard her mom inhale sharply yet softly as she brought Shmi in front of one of the stalls. This one had jugs of water in addition to produce, and Shmi’s mom seemed to peruse the water before looking at the produce. Shmi pressed against her mom’s side as her mom greeted the stall owner in Basic, unable to stop peering around the area. She spotted what looked like an overgrown tooka following another customer around a few stalls down. Shmi wondered if the animal’s owner would let her pet it, if it got close enough to her. She’d always wanted a pet of her own, but her parents already said no to the last time she asked. Maybe if she waited another year or so, and found a potential pet that wouldn’t be messy or noisy, maybe her parents would say yes this time—

_KABOOM!_

Something knocked Shmi clear off her feet, her ears ringing as her head hit something soft yet firm. Something soft and firm— _Mom_ —held her tightly as she blinked, heat searing across her face with tiny pinpricks of pain against her skin as gray smoke filled her vision and eyes with tears. She could vaguely hear screams— _why? What just happened? What is out there?_ —but could only manage a gulp as arms wrapped themselves around her and scooped her up off the ground. “Mom?” she croaked, throat burning with each word that scratched against dry skin.

“Go, don’t let them see you! Offworlders are sold if not outright killed,” she thought she heard an unfamiliar, accented voice say as someone— _Mom_ —shifted Shmi’s position to get a better grip on her.

A hand rested against the back of her neck and forced her face into fabric that smelled familiar. Like home. “Thank you,” Shmi heard her mom say before Shmi’s mom began to move, still clutching Shmi tightly.

A few paces later, and Shmi let out a squeal when she abruptly slipped from her mom’s grip. “Shmi? Shmi, I’m so sorry, I can’t carry you, but you need to keep up with me,” her mom said as she set Shmi down, her hands still on Shmi’s shoulder as she placed her mouth next to Shmi’s ear. “Do as I say, be brave, and don’t look back,” she said, her voice barely audible to Shmi through the echoing sensation Shmi could still hear. Shmi felt her mom’s hand brush some of Shmi’s hair back and tuck it behind her ear.

Shmi nodded, blinking as her eyes began to sting. “Mom—where’s Dad?” she asked dazedly as she tried to look around and orient herself. She just saw a lot of smoke and flying dirt. She felt her mom grab her hand, and her fingers closed around her mom’s as she started to turn around to face the hangars again. 

Her mom’s hands let Shmi go, and grasped Shmi’s shoulders. “Don’t look back!” her mom shouted as she took Shmi’s hand again.

Shmi nodded, unwilling to speak in fear of inhaling more smoke. From behind, she could hear faint, rapid-fire bursts of noise, the same kind of noises her dad’s blaster made the one time he had to hunt for their dinner two systems ago. She glanced up, blinking tears from her face, in time to see her mom’s face, dirt-streaked and bloody, still looking ahead with her jaw set in the familiar ‘I’m going to do this no matter what’ face.

Without thinking, Shmi turned her head around to look back at the hangar.

And saw only smoke and flames through the entryway.

She hesitated, mesmerized for a second as she watched what looked like bulky humanoid figures emerge from the fires, all three carrying large and fancy blasters. At least compared to her dad’s. All three wore helmets that had weird visors that stretched across the top with a single line down the middle, instead of two lenses for the eyes, and all three had different paint colors and designs. The only similar design among them was a mark on their shoulders, a straight line with three shorter lines emerging from it. Her breath caught in her throat when the lead humanoid turned its face in her direction and seemed to make eye contact. She couldn’t see the eyes, but she did feel a chill settle in her bones.

Her mom yanked her forward in the next heartbeat. 

Shmi stumbled the next few steps, but then began to jog to catch up with her mom, the tension in her arm loosening the closer she got.

It felt as though hours and minutes passed simultaneously before her mom stopped, then gently guided Shmi into a different direction. Shmi obediently followed her mom, blinking as the air seemed to clear up enough that she could actually see, and the stinging sensation in her eyes began to lessen. She could see they were what looked like in a dingy alleyway, with debris littered about. Her mom let her hand go, and then knelt to pull what looked like an old, rotting crate from a trash pile. “Mom?” she croaked, her throat hurting with every word.

Her mom didn’t respond at first, just let out a little grunt as she pulled the crate lid free. “Get inside right now,” her mom hissed, stepping aside, and then gently nudging Shmi forward.

Shmi numbly scuttled forward and tucked herself into the crate. It smelled weird, but from what Shmi could see and feel, nothing was sticking out so she wasn’t going to poke herself by accident. “But Mom—”

“Listen to me, and listen carefully. Stay put, and don’t move until your dad or I come. I am going to go look for your dad, and make sure those bad people stay away from you,” her mom whispered, kneeling to Shmi’s level. She then leaned forward, and pressed a kiss to Shmi’s forehead. “I love you, Shmi. I love you very much.”

“I love you too, Mom,” Shmi said, nuzzling her mom for a second before her mom then leaned back on her heels, and then stood up.

With one, final lingering look, Shmi’s mom reached over to the side, and then closed the crate lid. Shmi shifted around in place so she could get into a better, curled-up position and feel less cramped.

There was nothing left to do now, but wait.

**Author's Note:**

>  **Disclaimer:** Star Wars and all related media belong to Disney.
> 
>  **All original characters** belong to Fyrepen33 and me, _please_ just ask one of us before you use them.


End file.
